Friends
The next few weeks went by nicely. Sirius had given up on trying to get in contact with Remus and left him alone now, making his life considerably easier.
Evan and Barty still avoided each other like the plague, but Remus had the sneaking suspicion that the box of sweets at the end of Evan’s bed and the finish essay he had fallen asleep over when it was half finished weren’t just house elves and tired delirium, but rather someone’s attempts at making things better. Not that he would ever say a word, of course.
Remus had permanently moved into the dorm room, gathering his belongings from the old dorm he had shared with the marauders and set up a nice space for himself in the Slytherin dorm. No teachers had caught on so far and even if they had, no one could seriously expect him to still share a dorm with them after the events that had transpired.
It was about a week until the next moon when they had finally managed to arrange a study session in the library where no one had anything coming up. Pandora was often busy with the little research club she ran and Regulus had to attend Quidditch practice often enough. It mostly came down to Dorcas and Remus sitting in the library alone, which was not different to any situation before.
Remus was the first to arrive, setting up his books, parchment and quill, waiting for the others. He had brought some sweets as well, although he kept them hidden to not get in trouble. He could imagine their study session - while most likely not productive - to be quite comfortable.
Remus saw Regulus before the younger Black saw him. He seemed a little lost while he looked around for whatever table he would find his study group at, so Remus raised his hand, making himself more visible.
Regulus seemed a little relieved when he spotted him and walked over immediately.
He greeted Remus shortly and sat down.
His hair was getting long, Remus noticed, his mother would surely cut it off once Regulus would return home. It was sad to think about, the long hair really suited Regulus. It framed his face perfectly and the black of his curls made his skin seem even paler, even more like snow.
Like Snowwhite, Remus thought. He never thought a person could look like that.
He brushed that thought off, having no time to linger on it as he heard Dorcas and Pandora approach them, still chatting as they sat down, greeting the boys only shortly. They seemed very invested in what they were talking about but it was impossible to understand a word.
Regulus and Remus exchanged looks over the table and Remus raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner, which somehow was enough to make them both break out in laughter. The girls looked at them, startled for a second, falling silent.
“What is it with you two?” Regulus laughed out, having caught his breath a bit. Remus was still grinning, waiting for one of them to let them in on it. Dorcas just tried to brush it off though, saying that it wasn’t important at all.
“Oh come on, Dorcas, tell them. It’s nothing bad!” Pandora smirked “Either you do or I do”
Dorcas turned to her, looking slightly offended “Don’t you dare” she whispered, horrified.
“Oh come on, we won’t say anything at all if you don’t want us to!” Remus promised.
Dorcas sighed, defeated and when she looked up, her cheeks had a slight blush on them.
She tried to say something, but effectively just ended up hiding her face in her hands.
Remus had never seen her like that, she was usually the most collected and stern of the Slytherin bunch. He smiled slightly.
“Dorcas is going on a date” Pandora blurted out, making Dorcas groan and put her head on the table, resting on her arms.
Regulus and Remus stared at each other, a grin spreading across their faces at about the same rate.
“Who is it?” Regulus asked.
Dorcas mumbled something, it was unintelligible. After having asked her multiple times to repeat herself, she finally raised her head.
“Marlene McKinnon,” she sighed.
Remus’ eyes widened and stared at her before starting to laugh. He hadn’t talked to Marlene much in the past weeks, but when he did, she seemed a little floaty, somewhere else in her mind. And thinking about it, it fit. Marlene and Dorcas were pretty alike in a lot of ways and Remus could see them being good for each other.
“Are you happy about it?” was the only question Remus asked.
“Happy doesn’t begin to describe it.” she whispered “She is amazing. We have been going out for a while already, that’s why Dora knows. She saw us” Dorcas chuckled, a little embarrassed.
Regulus smiled. “As long as you are happy, we’ve got your back. But if she dares to hurt you-” The threat ended in nothing, but the message was clearly received.
“I love you guys” Dorcas chuckled, leaning back in her seat “But we really should start now”
They got quite some notes done in the next few hours, going over the topics that Remus and Dorcas didn’t understand properly. It turned out that Regulus knew much more about Charms than any of them. He could even help Pandora out with a problem she had had for a while with a spell.
After about three hours, they decided to stop for that day, putting all the books away and rolling up their scrolls, stuffing them into their bags before they left the library, chatting happily.
As they walked through the hallways down to the Slytherin common room, they passed Marlene and Mary, standing in one of the hallways, books clutched to their chests. Marlene was whispering something while Mary was smirking the entire time.
When they noticed the group, Marlene looked up, obviously staring at Dorcas but trying to distract by greeting Remus, who smiled but rolled his eyes.
Pandora sighed and stopped them “Go already” she chuckled, pushing Dorcas towards Marlene softly. She stumbled forward a bit, trying to keep her balance. Without thought, Marlene reached out, putting her hands on Dorcas’ shoulders to help her.
Everyone around her laughed softly as she did, causing her to blush.
“Alright you two, off you go” Mary grinned, patting Marlene’s shoulder. She looked back at Remus one last time, as if she was worrying what he was thinking. To ease her worry, he smiled at her, openly, letting her know it was okay.
Regulus next to him looked much more unhappy though. He was the definition of a protective friend.
“I’m glad you’re doing okay” Mary whispered as she passed Remus, leaving down the hall, leaving him stunned. No word about anything, about him being a werewolf or leaving the dorm, just genuine concern and relief.
Maybe he hadn’t lost everyone